Banks are planning their strategy on payments and charges on money transfers ahead of adjusting to the new European Union Regulation, which obliges them to equate the cost of a simple transfer with the cost of transferring money directly, i.e. instant payments.
Universally adopted in the eurozone as the fastest, safest and cheapest way to both transfer money and pay in-store and in e-commerce, direct payments ensure that money reaches the recipient’s account within seconds.
Although the regulation does not dictate the size of fees that banks should adopt, it is common held that high fees for transferring money within the EU opposes the principle of banking consolidation, especially during a period of intense competition from fintech and bigtech companies.
The relevant regulation comes into force at the start of the new year, creating a headache for banks, which will have to adjust their invoices, balancing the differences that exist today between the two ways of sending money, taking into account the general trends in the field of payments dictated by minimizing or even eliminating costs for domestic and cross-border money transfers.
